In Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, I will always remember a line from one of the local chieftains that Mandela was working with in ANC, “I may be a pacifist, but let them try to come for my chickens!”

I too consider myself a pacifist. But there is a limit to what one can take and I think that quote cuts right through to where that line lay.

It’s almost universally accepted that self-defense is a valid and ethical context for violence. If the oppressor is coming for your food, then they’re coming for your life. If they’re coming for your job that allows you to buy food, then they’re coming for your life.

Violence in this context is absolutely self-defense, but what are we defending ourselves from? Who is the oppressor? It’s easy to blame white supremacy and the patriarchy, and much of the blame rightfully resides with these social institutions. If violence can be applied ethically, then the targets must be chosen carefully. Or else you do become Magneto, and you play right into the oppressor’s narrative.